An absurd and melancholy road-movie in the drab landscape of the Italian Po Delta. Alta Marea is a European film, but not in the usual and least positive meaning of the concept. It is a small-scale international production involving for instance the film academies of Berlin and Rome. It looks at a confrontation between the internationally-oriented (pop) culture of a group of young people and the local culture of the Po Delta. Alta Marea makes the best possible use of the location; the surroundings play a role at least as important as the people.The story centres on a group of five young people en route in a car. Their destination is not clear, but the mood is good. Pace-maker of the group is the anarchic hedonist Smilzo. The mood of the film changes dramatically when Smilzo is beaten to death after a confrontation with a bouncer at a discotheque. The owners of the discotheque blame his friends, who flee with the body. A frightened and absurd journey through an increasingly strange and hostile landscape ensues. Their panic and awkwardness prevent them from disposing of the body. Every step they take seems to get them into more trouble. Their encounters on the way get more and more remarkable. There is no escape.Director Lucian Segura’s musical background can be heard in the film’s ingenious soundtrack, in which the music of theyoung people and the traditional music of the Po Delta are interwoven.
